128 LITTLE NICOBAR AND PULO MILO 



grey, but further ornamented by patches of bright yellow beneath 

 the wing and on the back. This is the male, for the hen bird, 

 as in all sunbirds, is of very inconspicuous plumage. This 

 species is very local in distribution, and does not occur in the 

 northern islands. 



Asfur soloensis, the forest hawk, was not uncommon, but took 

 pains to obtain, for it was very wary. Before beginning to call^ 

 one had to hide in a bush, or behind a tree trunk, and the chances 

 were that when the bird did arrive it would perch behind you, and 

 then, since its swooping flight is perfectly noiseless, one remained 

 in ignorance of its proximitx'. Then, too, it might rest five yards 

 away or fifty : in the former case, if you were not prepared with 

 a suitable cartridge, the bird was lost, for there would be no time 

 to reload ; in the latter event, it was better to knock it over 

 straightway than run risks in bringing it closer. Once they 

 become frightened, or see what is making the call, they are off, 

 not to return, "charm you never so wisel}'." 



A parrot — PalcBornis caniceps — restricted entirely to the two 

 southern islands of the Nicobars, was very common about here/ 

 where its screams and chattering often broke the prevailing silence 

 of the jungle. For such a bird, it was clad in sober colours ; for, 

 saving a grey head, across the front of which — like a pair of 

 spectacles — there ran a patch of black feathers, the plumage 

 was of green only. The whole scheme was somewhat relieved 

 in the male by an upper mandible of scarlet. 



Monkeys abounded, and on some days we might see as 

 many as fifty or a hundred. They are so numerous that in 

 both Little and Great Nicobar the coco palms, except in the 

 neighbourhood of villages, are altogether unproductive, and 

 this, according to the natives, is because the monkeys screw 

 off every nut the moment it begins to form.* 



They, too, are very timid in some ways, but one is able to 

 get at them through their intense curiosity. The attempt to 



* It is difficult to believe that this is the true reason of the trees' in- 

 fertility ; but it is a fact that no coco palms, except those about the houses^ 

 bear any nuts. 



